Mark Webber will be hoping that an alternate tyre strategy will help propel him to victory in tomorrow’s Indian Grand Prix.

The Australian took the less-conventional approach of qualifying on the more durable Medium-compound tyres, and after managing the fourth-fastest time, is ideally positioned to capitalise in tomorrow’s race.

“We thought it was worth trying something a little bit different with the strategy today, so that’s why we ran the primes in Q3,” he said after the race.

“We thought we would probably be a bit further back than the second row to be honest, so it turned out to be a good session for us. It’s not easy to manage the primes when you just get a look at them in Q3, but I think we did a good job and we didn’t leave too much out there.

“We’re in a good position to capitalise on a different approach tomorrow. The option tyre (used by the first three cars) shouldn’t last too long and we’ll be on a different strategy. That said, I’ll still have to use the softer tyre in the race at some point, so let’s see.”

Webber’s teammate and almost certain champion-elect, Sebastian Vettel, qualified on pole with the fastest ever lap recorded around the Buddh International Circuit.

While a fifth-placed finish will be enough to secure him his fourth successive World Championship crown, the German will not want to settle for anything less than a fifth successive race win.

“The car felt good all weekend and it just got better as the track improved. The car was amazing,” he said after claiming the 43rd pole of his Formula 1 career.

“We have been getting a lot of questions about the Championship this weekend, but we’ll keep doing what we’ve done in the past, just focusing on every single step – we won’t change that for tomorrow, or the next couple of races.

“We’ve worked hard to get here and tomorrow is a long race. With the strategy, I think it’s always tricky do the right thing, but we have a good package so we should be in good shape.”